PALM CITY, Fla. — The front gate at Pawsitively Paradise in Palm City was wide open Wednesday. It appeared that no one was home on the day the kennel and training facility’s owner, Nikki Carmelengo, was arrested.
Turner Benoit of Jupiter Farms told WPTV that his mother's puppy died at the facility in March.
When he suspected something was wrong with the dog's death, he called police.
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Turner bought the dog, named Flurry, for his mother.
She boarded the goldendoodle at Pawsitively Paradise for a week, hoping the puppy would be trained and cared for.
However, Turner said he got the call from Carmelengo telling him the dog was dead at her facility.
He asked her to take the body to a veterinarian, and the sheriff's office was able to get a necropsy — an autopsy for animals —performed on Flurry's body.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Flurry's necropsy is one of the two necropsies performed on animals in Carmelengo's care that showed signs of blunt force trauma.
After learning of the arrest of the facility's owner Wednesday, Benoit said he was not surprised.
"I was glad there was justice in this whole thing," Benoit said. "I'm not looking forward to talking to my mother about it. I'm glad that we have a chance of making sure this doesn't happen to anyone else."
Adelle Csontos had the same sentiment.
Her call to the Martin County Sheriff's Office in 2022 kicked off the investigation.
When WPTV told her about Carmelengo's arrest, Csontos said she hoped this would lead to justice for the pets who died and closure for their owners.
"She should be held accountable," Csontos said. "Those dogs were totally dependent on her. Their owners trusted her with really their children, and she should be held accountable."
The pet owners' reaction is bittersweet, while they hope the arrest means the facility may not be able to train and board animals much longer, they also still feel the pain and emptiness of losing a family pet.
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